Moms a-Twitter over Graco's stroller recall response
When Kylee Pierce, a stay-at-home mom of two in Meriden, Conn., heard about Wednesday鈥檚 Graco stroller recall, she went looking for the model number on her Graco stroller. When she couldn鈥檛 find it, she asked the experts 鈥� by messaging Graco鈥檚 Twitter account.
From finding the serial number to determining whether Mrs. Pierce鈥檚 stroller qualified for the recall to offering links where she could order the proper repair kit, Graco鈥檚 twitterers helped Pierce from step to step.
鈥淚t was fantastic,鈥� she tweeted to the Monitor. 鈥淢y 1st experience interacting with a company like this. That Kelly,鈥� Graco鈥檚 Twitter minder, 鈥渨as helpful and prompt!鈥�
Strategically, Graco hit all the right notes, says Ana Roca Castro, a mother of four who runs Premier Social Media, a consulting group.
鈥淭he whole point of social media is being there at the time of the crisis,鈥� Mrs. Castro says. 鈥淏efore people even started complaining, they were there.鈥�
Not all companies are so nimble. During a recall of 1 million Maclaren strollers in November, the company鈥檚 Twitter feed blasted out times and dates for distribution of stroller-repair kits but didn鈥檛 take questions from consumers. Tylenol鈥檚 recent struggles with public relations after a recall of various products also highlights a company wrestling with how best to reach customers when something goes wrong.
鈥淚n social media, everything is immediate. You can鈥檛 just do a press release and that鈥檚 the official opinion of the company,鈥� Mrs. Castro says. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 have someone who is trained or with a clear policy, [the company will] chicken out. They don鈥檛 want to show a public face and risk a lawsuit.鈥�
But being ready for tough days means being responsive to customers every day, building a rapport before times of trouble.
That was the case for Kate Marshlord, a mother of two who runs the site . When Mrs. Marshlord recently Tweeted to Graco with a question about car seats and received a rapid 鈥� and useful 鈥� reply, she made a personal connection with the company.
鈥淭o tap in to moms to connect on a personal level, yeah, it鈥檚 through the computer but it feels personal when you get a tweet directly from Graco,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 could go to my friend and say, 'I asked someone at Graco and here鈥檚 what they said,' and it feels like you鈥檙e getting some one-on-one advice and connecting with the company even though it鈥檚 through the computer.鈥�
When she saw the recall mentioned on the Today Show Wednesday morning, Marshlord headed straight for her Twitter account to help spread the word on the recall to her 3,600 followers. For busy moms in particular, tweeting for customer service just makes more sense.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely easier than getting on the phone and calling a 1-800 number,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easier with kids running around and making noise in the background to hop online and shoot a tweet or an e-mail.鈥�
